


Remembrance

by 4gardiean



Series: Arandur Denethor [5]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Childhood Memories, Gen, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25532968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4gardiean/pseuds/4gardiean
Summary: As Boromir defends Merry and Pippin, he is mortally wounded. As he lies dying, he remembers the time he met high king Elessar. When Aragorn reaches him, he recognizes him as the king he saw.
Series: Arandur Denethor [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1015095
Kudos: 1





	Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

> Between * * means it is taken from the books.

Boromir struggles to lift his sword. The arrows which pierced make movements painful. His muscles scream in agony with each move he makes. It hurts but he knows cannot give up now. Merry and Pippin need him. He cannot fail them. Not now after he almost betrayed Frodo. He cannot fail again.

Air is blown out of his chest. Another hit? Pain increases to near unmanageable levels. Still, he does not allow it to stop him. He lifts his sword again and manages to kill an orc. This is another one. He has already killed many. How many more before they leave? Before the pain overwhelms him?

“Boromir!”

Orcs fall around him moments after the two simultaneous screams. What is attacking them? Surely not Merry and Pippin? They do not wear any bows and arrows at this time. How can they fight like this? A rock flies past his face, nearly missing him. So they are fighting. An act of unimaginable bravery for a Hobbit. An orc approaches him. He strikes but his sword breaks. He swayed and nearly falls. No, he cannot fall now. A quick movement of his arm and his broken sword is pushed into the orc. The orc falls backward just as his back hits a tree. All strength leaves him and he sinks to the floor.

> His eyes feel heavy. He can barely keep them open. The only thing which gives him is his worry for his friends. Turning his head, he hopes to see they have fled. But what he sees has what little hope he had is smashed. Merry and Pippin are picked up by orcs who run past him. Before he has so much as processed it, they are gone. At this time, he cannot keep his eyes open. They close in exhaustion.
> 
> Boromir sits quietly in a room. He knows it is home for he recognizes the city he lives in. Still, he has never seen this room. So where is he? And where are his parents? They left some time ago. Where did they go? They did not tell him anything except to enjoy the time he has. And that someone would check on Faramir and him from time to time.
> 
> He sighs looking down. In front of him lies a sheet of parchment and some colors. The parchment is covered with some drawings but not much. He cannot stay focused on it. The events from the previous days keep lingering in his mind. It irritates him that his parents refuse to answer any of the questions he had. Or even explain anything on their own. Mother always explains everything to him. Not that he ever had to ask for it. Mother was never so strange about anything.
> 
> The door is opened. He looks up. A servant enter the room and walks towards Faramir who lies in a crib. What does she want? He hurries after her. He is the big brother here. He needs to protect Faramir. His parents expect him to do it. He cannot fail in his duty. Even if his parents have been acting strangely. It is his duty. Mother always says it.
> 
> Nearing Faramir and the servant, he sees how her looking into the crib. She reaches towards Faramir. What did she want? He hurries towards his brother. He needs to protect him.
> 
> Just as he reaches them, she lifts Faramir up just. He looks up and watches what she does with Faramir. What does she want to do to Faramir? She walks around with Faramir but does little else. Why is she acting so strangely? Surely she would come here to do more than this? It does not make any sense. No one ever visited them to simply walk with Faramir.
> 
> Boromir shakes his head. The servant is strange. But so is everyone else. Why do they act so strangely? They surely know who his parents and he are. Everyone knows that. So why is everyone so secretive? What are they not saying? What are they hiding? No one should ever hide anything from his ada. No one. But then he remembers how his parents have been hiding things. It is not the first time. But he never likes it. He wants to know what is going on.
> 
> While thinking about all this, he still keep his eyes on the servant and Faramir. As such, he sees her putting Faramir down in his crib. He slips stealthily closer to the crib. He needs to look inside it. He wants to see how Faramir is doing. It becomes especially important to him that he should do so when he sees her hands remaining in the crib. What is she doing?
> 
> Reaching the crib, he peeks over the edge. A hand is stroking Faramir’s cheek. Faramir sleeps peacefully. He smiles happily to know his brother is fine. But at the same time he is also amused. His brother can sleep through all the strangeness happening around them. Something he cannot. It must be something only babies can do. The hand disappears and he looks up. The servant is walking around the crib and kneels down in front of him.
> 
> “Can I do anything for you?”
> 
> “Can I have something to drink?”
> 
> “Of course. Would you like some juice or water? Or something else?”
> 
> Again the strange behavior. Surely she knows he despises water. He always drinks juice. Never tea if he can prevent it. So what does she ask? But this time there is another strange thing; she never said his name. Nor did she talk to him as everyone else does. He does not like it. He wants her to leave. She looks at him expectedly.
> 
> “Juice, please.”
> 
> “Of course. Any juice you like?”
> 
> He frowns. She does it again. She must know he likes apple juice or something which tastes similar. Everyone knows it. So why does she ask. She does not make any sense. She needs to leave. Maybe if she goes to get his drink will she leave him alone.
> 
> “Apple juice or something which tastes like it. That is what I would like to drink.”
> 
> “Of course. Is there anything else you want. Maybe some cookies?”
> 
> He shakes his head. He is not hungry and knows better than to take something from anyone but his parents or nanny. Even if she works in the city. He knows how dangerous it can be. It is something which his parents have pressed into him for years. Besides, he will not be bribed.
> 
> He watches the servant leave. He knows she will return. The time he has to wait he spends on drawing. Or as much drawing as he can draw in.

His eyes open slightly. He struggles for he knows he needs to stay awake. Still, his eyes drop closed from time to time. He knows Aragorn and the others need to know what has happened to Merry and Pippin. Only he can tell them. It is then that he remembers the memory in detail. Why did it come up now? He never thought about it before. So why now? What caused it?

He looks around trying to find his friends. No one is here. He coughs which creates a burning in his chest. He closes his eyes but cannot open them again. Another memory resurfaces.

> He wakes up to his mother shaking him. He rubs his eyes and struggles upward. He looks around confused. Where is he? Looking around the room, he does not recognize it. At the same time, it seems familiar to him. Thinking it a dream, he falls back to the bed. Again he is shaken and opens his eyes.
> 
> “Boromir, you need to stand up. We will be making a trip today.”
> 
> “Mhh, with who?”
> 
> He rubs his eyes only for his hands to be grasped and pulled forward. Who is pulling him? Looking up, he sees it is his mother. He allows her to pull him knowing full well he cannot fight his mother. It would be a fight he has never won before. As he stands next to the bed, he hears his mother speaking up.
> 
> “I will tell you when we go to meet him. But now you need to prepare yourself for today.”
> 
> “But …”
> 
> “No, Boromir. We need to prepare ourselves. I will not talk about it until later.”
> 
> “And when is later?”
> 
> “When we meet him at the stables.”
> 
> He sighs but allows his mother to dress him. He shuffles around for mother is not dressing him fast enough. A shirt is pushed over his head. He tries to get it on him alone. It fails for he becomes stuck in the shirt with his arms. He struggles to get out of it. It feels constricting. Suddenly, the shirt is lifted of his head. He looks up to see his mother handling the shirt.
> 
> He pays close attention to what his mother does with the shirt. Maybe he can do it then on his own. She seems to be wrinkling his shirt. Why? What will it do if his shirt is wrinkled? He does not know. She moves closer to him and puts it over his head. It gets put on in seconds. And without anymore problems.
> 
> He smiles. Now, it is time to meet this person. He runs out of the room towards his boots. If he puts them on then they can meet the person. He wants to meet this person soon. He wants to know what is so important about him. His mother seemed highly impressed by the man. He wants to know why.
> 
> “Boromir! What are you doing?”
> 
> He turns his head with a boot in his hands. His ada is looking at him from where he sits at the table. A table filled with breakfast. When their eyes meet, ada frowns. His eyes widen knowing what his ada wants to say.
> 
> “Putting my boots on. Then we can meet the person.”
> 
> “Come here. We need to eat first. Then we will meet the person at the stables.”
> 
> “But Ada! If …”
> 
> “No, Boromir. Sit down. We will eat before meeting the person.”
> 
> Ada mentions to a chair once more. Ada has done so a few times already. Boromir stamps his foot loudly on the ground. He does not want to eat now. He wants to meet whoever they will be meeting. And well right now. Not later. This is just as annoying as the strange behavior.
> 
> He looks up. Ada frowns again. Or has he been frowning the entire time? He does not know. But one thing he does know; ada is annoyed so he needs to sit down. Sighing, he walks towards the chair. He does not want to eat breakfast but knows annoying ada anymore will not aide him. It will only make things more difficult for him.
> 
> Sitting at the table, he waits for nana to join him. It takes some time. While waiting, he fidgets on his chair. He wants to eat. He does not look at ada knowing full well what he will see. Once nana sits down, he eats as fast as he can. Maybe this way, he will learn whatever the meeting is about sooner. He scowls when he notices his parents do not hurry. Why? They should go meet the person as soon as possible. And not stay here any longer than necessary by eating slowly. He fidgets on his chair once more.
> 
> “Boromir, calm down. It will not matter if we eat calmly. The person we are meeting will not be at the stables for another hour. We need to wait for him to show up anyway. And it will mean a long time waiting outside if we get to the stables very early.”
> 
> “Yes, nana.”
> 
> He stops fidgeting. This is what his parents want. But it does not stop his feelings. He still wants to leave as soon. He still wants to meet this person. As possible. So in place of fidgeting, he stares at his plate. Whoever they will be meeting should not let them waiting. His father is the most important man in the land. Everyone should wait for his ada. Not the other way around. It is not done. So what makes this person so important that he can keep ada waiting?
> 
> * * *
> 
> Half an hour later, he walks towards the stable holding his nana’s hand. They finally left. He cannot wait to meet the person. Who is this person? What is he like? No one has talked about him. In fact, breakfast was strangely silent. Normally his parents always talk about things. Just not this time. Another strange thing which frustrates him.
> 
> As they walk, he looks carefully at the city. He knows no one who they walk across. But it does not surprise him. He already finds it difficult to remember names from people he does not know well. So, he does not pay much attention to it. What does draw his attention is the lack of soldiers. He remembers clearly how many warriors were in the city at all times. Where are they? He looks around but cannot find anything which would give him answers.
> 
> Arriving at the stable, he sees guards standing around horses. He smiles. Soon he will meet the person. Looking at the horses, he can see which of the horses will be ridden by the guards; they do not have such richly decorated blankets on them. Only three horses do. The others have normal blankets on their backs.
> 
> His parents stop a short distance away from the guards. He looks up to his nana with a frown. Nana does not react. Did she not see him? He tugs on her arm. He wants to know wh6 they stopped here. He only needs to tug a few times before nana looks down.
> 
> “Yes, Boromir.”
> 
> “Why did we stop here?”
> 
> “We stopped here because your ada and I agreed to wait here.”
> 
> “Agreed?”
> 
> “Yes, agreed with the person who we will meet soon.”
> 
> “Ohh, okay.”
> 
> He does not understand why they agreed to wait here. Could they want to talk about something without being overheard? Ada has done so. He only ever saw it a few times. But he heard about all the other times. The guards gossip like women when they do not think they are overheard.
> 
> Still, who is this mysterious person? Nana did not say anything about him. Not a single thing. He can only guess. And that means he believes the person to be very important. Not as important as his ada. No, never. But he knows he needs to be on his best behavior when meeting this person.
> 
> But knowing they agreed to wait here and that he needs to be on his best behavior, he waits patiently for the person to arrive. Well, patiently? Not really. He is fidgeting around. Why can this person not hurry up? Why?
> 
> Turning to his ada, he sees ada talking to nana. He looks away and fidgets again. Ada and nana talk about really boring things. He looks around to find something if more interested. A hand in his shoulder has him looking up. He immediately looks ada in his face.
> 
> “Boromir, calm down. We need to wait for a short while still. Then we will leave.”
> 
> He nods unhappily. He wants to meet this person soon. Whenever ada says ‘a short while’ it always is a long time. At least in his mind. This time, it is no difference. They have to wait a very long time, in his opinion, before he can hear the sound of people walking in their direction. He knows this for the sound is different from what he has heard before.
> 
> “Good morning, Gil.”
> 
> “Good morning, Thor. Did you sleep well tonight?”
> 
> “Yes, I did. I hope you did too.”
> 
> “I slept relatively well considering everything.”
> 
> Boromir watches the conversation play out with barely concealed interest. So this is the person they will be meeting. Ada seems to know him. Does nana know him too? Gil turns around and kisses nana on the back of her hand. This is nothing strange. But now, he can look better at Gil. Gil stands nearly in front of him. Gil wears clothing he has rarely seen. Well made, yes, and of cloth similar to what ada always wears. But the rest of it is something he has not seen before.
> 
> He is so focused on observing Gil that he fails to notice Gil kneeling in front of him. He only knows it when Gil’s face is right in front of his. On Gil’s face is a smile. He smiles uncertainty waiting for Gil to say something. Anything.
> 
> “Ah, you must be Boromir. It is nice to meet you. My name is Elessar.”
> 
> “Really? Then why did ada call you Gill?”
> 
> “Oh, it is an old nickname for me.”
> 
> “Really?”
> 
> “Yes really.”
> 
> Gil laughs silently. He looks to his ada. He wants an explanation. He wants to know if Gil or Elessar spoke the truth. The only one he gets is a nod. He turns back to Gil hoping for more information.
> 
> Gil looks at him with a frown. Is he worried? Why does he not say anything? He smiles and receives one in return. But still no explanations. Or anything. He fidgets for a moment. Should he ask a question then? He smiles. This is what he will do.
> 
> “How long have you known Ada, Gil.”
> 
> “Oh for a very long time. But do not let us linger here any longer.”
> 
> Gil stand up. Boromir turns his head to the guards. He clearly heard the gasp. Why? Did he do something wrong? He does not think so. He did what he has always done. Somewhat could be wrong about it?
> 
> He looks up and sees Gil standing next to his horse. When did Gil walk to his horse? His eyes widen. He knows how. The horse was brought to Gil. Ada’s horse has also been brought over. A hand in his side is just a warning before he is placed on Ada’s horse. Ada jumps behind. A short while later, they are moving through the city.

Boromir opens his eyes. His thoughts are in shambles. Gil looks familiar. Elessar sounds familiar. Where did he hear the name and see the face before? His eyes widen in realization; Galadriel called Aragorn ‘Elessar’ while they were in Lothlorien. Gil’s face is similar to Aragorn. If a bit older. Did he meet Aragorn then? But how? It would mean he traveled through time. That is impossible. Right?

His mind turns back to when he saw Gil. The places he saw Gil are blurry. But he is certain now; he saw Aragorn when he was older. How can it be? And what does it mean? Oh, he knows what it means. Or at least, he has an idea. He had a vision. Something which Faramir has had before. He saw Aragorn as a king. So Gondor will win and the king will return. It is not like he traveled through time.

A detail of the vision comes to light. He saw Aragorn when he was younger. Or he saw through younger eyes. How? He does not know. And no matter how unlikely, it is as if he traveled through time.

Leaves crushing has him pushing upward. Are there more orcs around? He hopes not. He is no state to fight. But … he will not go down without a fight. He refuses. He stands up. Immediately, pain flares through his entire body. His eyes close and he slides back down. He cannot stand. How can he defend himself?

Someone kneels next to him. Who is it? Opening his eyes, they immediately drop again. He opens them again and gives a relieved sigh. Aragorn is kneeling next to him. A worried look is in Aragorn’s eyes. Boromir knows what he needs to do. He opens his mouth to speak but no words come out. He struggles for he needs to tell Aragorn what has happened. After some time, he finally manages to speak up.

*”I tried to take the ring from Frodo. I am sorry. I have paid.”*

His head turns to the orcs lying around him. Is this what he managed to do while wounded? He is impressed with himself. He closes his eyes. The pain becomes worse with each passing moment. He cannot stop now. He needs to continue.

Opening his eyes, he sees Aragorn looking at him with concern. More concern is visible than before. He looks Aragorn in his eyes. The resemblance to Gil comes once more to his mind. It reinforces his belief; he traveled through time. No matter how strange it sounds he becomes convinced of it. Opening his mouth, he continues.

*”They have gone: the Halflings: the orcs have taken them. I think they are not dead. Orcs bound them”*

Fatigue hits him. He closes his eyes for a moment. This time, he used to think back to his memories. He knows Gondor will be in good hands with Aragorn as the king. It is only a matter to make sure Aragorn is crowned. Well, making sure? As much as he can.

*“Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people.* They await their king’s return. It was an honor to fight at your side, your majesty.”


End file.
